NBA 2K12

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at the fictional rookies that are found in the original rosters of unpatched NBA 2K12.

Fortunately, there haven’t been too many lockouts in the history of the NBA. To that point, only two of them have ever ended up cancelling games, and we’ve yet to see an entire season lost to an unresolved labour dispute. We have seen lockouts affect video games however, whenever they’ve been released as scheduled despite a stoppage. The most obvious effect is that those games have launched with previous season rosters, rather than including the offseason moves and a new rookie class that we normally expect to see. This in turn has presented some issues, and necessary workarounds.

For example, the 16-bit version of NBA Live 96 included the expansion draft, as well as codes to easily replace Roster Players with rookies (and Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and assorted Legends!). Only one player in NBA Live 99 – Peja Stojakovic – could win Rookie of the Year in Season mode, though the official PC patch did add the Class of 1998, and any created rookies were also eligible for the award. NBA Full Court Press also received an official roster update. And then, there’s NBA 2K12, and its fictional placeholder rookies that stood in for the Class of 2011 until the lockout was lifted and a patch was released. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at Linsanity, and its effect on basketball video games.

The NBA has produced some captivating stories in its 75 years, including inspiring underdog tales. When I was growing up as a young NBA fan in the 90s, the story of how John Starks went from undrafted prospect to a key member of the best Knicks teams since the 70s was one of the most popular. Some twenty years after Starks’ breakout season in New York, another Knicks guard would become a fan favourite after making his mark. Of course, while there are some fun coincidences in the careers of John Starks and Jeremy Lin, there are some noteworthy differences as well.

Both originally made their NBA debut for the Golden State Warriors, seeing limited minutes while playing less than half of the season. Both had gone undrafted, though Lin had arguably been a much longer shot to make the league, having not received any athletic scholarship offers and being just one of four players from Harvard to go pro (and the first in over fifty years). Again, both were fan favourites in New York, whose big break came in part thanks to injuries. However, while Starks’ career was memorable, Linsanity was something special, brief as it may have been. It also had a noticeable impact on the virtual hardwood. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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Today’s file additions for NBA 2K12 feature a modified 2012 season roster, based on jubba910’s story topic. As previously mentioned, jubba910 is replaying past seasons game-by-game, and carrying over the custom rosters with fictional transactions to the next title. Be sure to follow along with his story, and check out the roster to play with the lineups created by his Association gaming!

jubba910
NBA 2K10 & Beyond Project: 11-12 Opening Day Roster

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

We just have one new mod in today’s file additions for NBA 2K12 PC. notpedro has released a fictional league roster called the Akari Cup Ultimate Roster, and it’s available to download at the link below.

notpedro
Akari Cup Ultimate Roster

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m comparing The Jordan Challenge in NBA 2K11 to NBA’s Greatest in NBA 2K12.

I like to mix things up here in Wayback Wednesday. From retrospective reviews and profiles of modes and features, to interesting trivia and media from yesteryear, it’s my goal to cover a broad range of throwback content. Something that I haven’t done yet is to directly compare a couple of retro games, modes, or features, and conclude which one is superior. That changes today with what will hopefully be the first of many “Versus” articles for Wayback Wednesday, as I’m comparing The Jordan Challenge to NBA’s Greatest.

I’ve covered both The Jordan Challenge and NBA’s Greatest in several articles for Wayback Wednesday, but the question remains: which is the superior mode? Both modes took NBA 2K’s retro content to a new level, providing some fun challenges and establishing a precedent for all future releases as far as including a variety of historical teams. Let’s compare these two great modes across some key criteria as we take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m reimagining NBA’s Greatest in NBA 2K12.

I had a lot of fun reimagining The Jordan Challenge back in June, so I thought I’d give the same treatment to NBA’s Greatest. As I remarked in my retrospective on NBA’s Greatest, it was a fantastic follow-up to The Jordan Challenge, and added new content to NBA 2K12 with the lockout of 2011 delaying the inclusion of the new rookies and updated rosters. The level of detail with the retro presentation was very impressive, and it’s a feature that would be really fun to have when playing with historical teams in future NBA 2K games.

However, as with The Jordan Challenge, NBA’s Greatest wasn’t perfect. Looking back, there are a few ways it could’ve been better, and teams that would’ve been preferable. As with my previous reimagining, this isn’t intended to disparage the work that Visual Concepts put into NBA’s Greatest, but rather consider what might have been if not for a few legal barriers, and how an already fantastic mode could be made even better. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at Training Camp in NBA 2K12.

In recent years, it’s been noted that the NBA 2K series has been increasingly geared towards appealing to the hardcore online crowd. In a Reddit post that I’ve mentioned before (and no doubt will again), a former EVE Online developer has noted the series’ increasing focus on catering to elite players, and apparent hostility to newer gamers who are trying to hone their skills on the virtual hardwood. It’s fostered the “get gud” mindset, while failing to provide the onboarding, opportunities, and fair matchmaking that would allow less experienced players to strive for that.

As noted in that Reddit post, it wasn’t always that way. Earlier this decade, the NBA 2K games were going out of their way to teach gamers all of the basic and advanced controls, in an environment that was both helpful and creative. Those efforts began with the introduction of Training Camp in NBA 2K12, a feature that would carry over into NBA 2K13 and prior gen NBA 2K14. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at the introduction video for NBA 2K12.

Although NBA 2K11 was a tough act to follow, I would suggest that NBA 2K12 was up to the challenge. Continuing to improve upon the gameplay of its predecessor, it also successfully expanded the historical content we’ve come to associate with the NBA 2K series. The Jordan Challenge gave way to NBA’s Greatest, a mode featuring fantastic production values and several of the best teams in the NBA history on top of MJ’s Bulls. The game was hampered by the absence of the Class of 2011 rookies at launch owing to the lockout, but official roster updates would later resolve that issue.

Firing up NBA 2K12 for the first time immediately got you in the mood to play with the new historical teams, with an introduction video that I once ranked as the best among basketball games. Although we’ve seen some slick intros in the years since, there’s still a strong case for NBA 2K12’s boot-up remaining in the top spot. As such, I thought I’d look back at it this week, and the real highlights that inspired several moments in the intro. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m opening up a sealed promotional copy of NBA 2K12 for Xbox 360 that I found on eBay.

In recent years I’ve continued to expand my collection of basketball video games, not only buying the latest releases, but also picking up older games that I’ve found on eBay at an affordable price. Some of those games I’ve previously owned and sold, while others I’ve never owned or even played before. I’ve also bought different versions of games that I already own, in order to experience them on other platforms. While browsing eBay looking for deals, I found a sealed, promotional copy of NBA 2K12 for the Xbox 360. Intrigued as to what might be in the box – perhaps a code for the 2002 Sacramento Kings and 1991 Golden State Warriors? – I decided to pick it up.

Since I was going to have to tear open the seal anyway in order to check it out, I figured that I might as well make a sort of unboxing video feature out of it. For your entertainment, let’s open up this sealed promotional copy of NBA 2K12 for Xbox 360, and take a look back…way back…

Check it out here on the NLSC’s YouTube channel if you can’t see the embedded video. I’ll be looking to create video content a bit more often moving forward, so be sure to subscribe! If you’d like to check out more Wayback Wednesday content related to NBA 2K12, be sure to read this retrospective of NBA’s Greatest.

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at the infamous 2K Insider.

When I discussed some of the most memorable characters in basketball video games, it was pointed out to me that I’d forgotten about one of the most noteworthy individuals to appear in the NBA 2K series: the 2K Insider. A mysterious person behind the scenes and in the community, the 2K Insider – known only as “Sy” – was responsible for maintaining the rosters for NBA 2K. Within the games themselves, their avatar appeared as an advisor and mentor, providing basketball insights and offering up words of encouragement, as well as critique.

The 2K Insider hasn’t been a part of the more recent NBA 2K games, as he no longer fits the tone of MyCAREER. 2K has also taken the approach of recognising all the developers, ensuring that we know who is responsible for different aspects of the games, and opening up the channels of communication for constructive feedback. The Insider was a notable figure that led to a fair amount of speculation though, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at the 1991 Golden State Warriors and 2002 Sacramento Kings in NBA 2K12.

As I discussed in a previous Wayback Wednesday retrospective, the success of the Jordan Challenge in NBA 2K11 and the looming lockout in 2011 gave Visual Concepts plenty of incentive to expand upon the historical content in the game. The result of course was NBA’s Greatest, which cut down on the specifics of the challenges (just win the games), but provided us with a larger roster of historical teams and NBA Legends. Deciding to take things one step further, 2K also provided basketball gamers with a couple of other historical teams to play with: the 1991 Golden State Warriors, and the 2002 Sacramento Kings.

Given the popularity and reputation of those two teams, the announcement of their inclusion was greeted with enthusiasm. However, their presence in the game wasn’t without controversy. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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We don’t get a lot of file additions for NBA 2K12 PC anymore, but Luis recently updated his roster pack for the game. Download it at the link below!

Luis
Luis’s Roster Pack for NBA 2K12 (Updated to v2.0)

We have a new file addition for NBA 2K12 PC today, as LASquared has released a pack containing some special custom rosters. Check it out at the link below!

Luis (LASquared)
LASquared Roster Pack for NBA 2K12

I’m a little behind in posting this, but we’ve recently had a new file addition for NBA 2K12, specifically a custom soundtrack. Check it out at the link below!

Luis Anton Imperial
Customized Soundtrack Mod

Episode #174 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! The release of NBA 2K17 is getting closer and closer, and once again we’ve got a significant amount of news to cover. We also have some stories to share about the latest exploits of the NLSC squad in 2K Pro-Am, and a trip down memory lane with NBA 2K12.

On this week’s show…

• We tip things off with a discussion about The Prelude, the downloadable experience for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of NBA 2K17 that will preview MyCAREER.
• A recent 2K media day has given us quite a bit of information about NBA 2K17, and a lot of it is very good news. A lot of positive impressions are also coming out of the recent community event.
• At last, we have our first deep-dive developer blog, courtesy of Gameplay Director Mike Wang! The man they call Beluba has given us some very promising information about this year’s game.
• How optimistic and hyped are we for NBA 2K17, just a couple of weeks away from the Early Tip-Off Weekend?
• In Our Week in Basketball Gaming: a goal is achieved by the NLSC squad in 2K Pro-Am. Also, some unfinished business is finally completed in NBA 2K12.
• We wrap up another episode with our new favourite game, Trivia Time! The score is close, and we have a fresh new batch of questions for at least the next six weeks.

Click Play to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:32:08 — 45.0MB)

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Have some thoughts on the latest episode? Sound off in the comments below, or here in the Forum. Also, if there’s a topic you’d like us to discuss on the next episode of the NLSC Podcast, feel free to hit us up in this thread.